Support people affected by the conflict in Iraq

Since 2014, Mission East has helped hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-ridden Northern Iraq, providing emergency relief, psycho-social support and long-term assistance. The operation is the largest in the organisation’s history.

In recent years, the population of Iraq has lived in one of the world’s most dangerous war zones. Almost three million people are still displaced from their homes because of the armed conflict and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, and even after the defeat of the so-called Islamic State in 2017, serious problems remain.

Having previously worked in Iraq from 2003-2006, Mission East returned to the country in 2014 due to the severe humanitarian crisis caused by the emergence of Islamic State. Since then, Mission East has helped hundreds of thousands of people in Northern Iraq, including the Kurdish region. Many of them have fled from areas occupied by Islamic State, others have returned to their liberated towns or villages only to find them devastated by occupation and fighting.

In Iraq, Mission East provides emergency relief as well as aid for longer-term settlement purposes, including mattresses, kitchen utensils, and hygiene kits as well as heaters for protection against the cold winter temperatures and air coolers for the extremely hot summers. In community centres, children and youth get a chance to play and learn. Mission East is also helping returnees earn a livelihood, e.g. by growing produce in greenhouses.

On Sinjar Mountain, Mission East remains one of the few international NGOs to assist thousands of displaced Yezidis who have faced severe persecution by Islamic State. The assistance includes emergency relief as well as livelihood support.

In late 2016, Mosul became an important focal point of Mission East’s work in Iraq due to the offensive by Iraqi forces against Islamic State and the ensuing mass displacement. Mission East was among the first international organisations to assist the population of East Mosul and has played an important role in relief work in West Mosul, delivering vital food supplies to its desperate inhabitants. Following the liberation of Mosul in the summer of 2017, Mission East is helping the population rebuild the war-torn city.

Help people in Iraq survive one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent times, so they can rebuild their communities.

News from Iraq